After pulling his hand from the painful handshake of Jacob's, Adrian was given a card from Jacob with his sign, and information on it.
"With this, You can call the association no matter where you are, That is all, Now, Feel free to look around."
Adrian turned back and looked at Eric who was sitting on the bench with his arms crossed and then Max who was busy buying and eating sweets.
Adrian started walking around and looked at the leaderboard, It was a big tablet that was made up of white light and suspended in mid-air where there were names of people with the highest contribution point written on their right. The people at the top were written with golden light.
On the walls were mission boards that were made up of white light and words were written on it with yellow light, All the details regarding the mission and rewards were written on the board, If there was too much one has to write, they can even swipe, taking to the second page with the rest of the information.
On the left and right side of the registration table were two hallways that leads to different places, such as the bar where Aura users wearing bodysuits of all colors were drinking beer or mourning the loss of one of their team members, cafeteria where there were people drinking and eating normally, shops where books, charms, Mystical relics were being sold, The library with tall bookshelves, filled up with thousands of books that made Adrian awe and etc.
The main hall was filled with people of all types of backgrounds, looks, Auras and appearance, Mostly humans wearing different colours of bodysuits were looking at the missions and talking to each other, He felt weird at not having a bodysuit, He was still in his school uniform, but no one seemed to mind his clothing, there were many who were not wearing bodysuits, so him not wearing one wasn't anything weird.
"Hey, Let's form a team of five including you and me and go hunt the six-horned rainbow rhino" Two people ijn red and black bodysuit were talking to each other.
"What!? A shiny eight armed crocodile has appeared! I need to get it's brain to advance" A tanned middle aged man screamed after seeing that the last ingredient he needs to advance to Auri Nova has finally appeared and was happy but soon fell in panic as he didn't had many connections to form a party and he wasn't wealthy too. He fell into deep contemplation.
"Haha! Finally, I took over that bastard Klein! Risking my life to hunt those serene sirens was worth it!" A haughty young man was laughing proudly.
"What is this golden hair baboon?" A young boy asked his father, who was wearing a red bodysuit and had his small son besides him.
He was given the freedom to look around the place and was having fun but being honest, He wasn't at all interested in exploring big crowded places, The reason why he was even looking around was due to formality. He was more interested to get back home and read the books he was given by Visie.
Strangely, He has never shown this much interest in his studies at school but when he thinks about reading history and finding more about the Aura region, He can't help but be pumped with adrenaline and hear his heart beat faster.
He will be more confident to come back here after knowing all he can, just as he was about to go to Eric and request him to leave and go back, Jacob shouted to Eric, "Hey, Eric, Come here, I have got news to tell you!"
His scream got the attention of every Aura user that was there in the hall as everybody's head turned to look at Jacob, Eric got out of his thoughts and turned his head to look at Jacob, He slowly stood up and walked towards Jacob and leaned in to hear what he had to say, Eric always prefers to be aware of every news in the present as much as he can, even if not detailed but atleast be aware of it on the surface level.
"What is it?" Eric asked, Even Max who was happily chewing his sweets got closer to listen in, Adrian didn't back down too, No one else dared to get close to the group.
"It has been quite a while since you have been come here but I believe you haven't been checking the news lately, right?"
Eric tilted his chin and replied, "Yes, There has been many things going in my life, I am even married now and have many things to do. I can't just hang around asking for news to others, If I were to move to lumenia or any other planet in the Auralis Solar system, I can get major news with no problem but now I do not have the time."
Adrian mustered up the courage and asked Jacob sheepishly, "Uh-Mr. Jacob, Can you tell me about your Aura?"
Jacob slightly turned his head to look at Adrian, He stared at his face for a few seconds, making Adrian anxious and think that he shouldn't have asked, Jacob chuckled and replied with a warm smile, "Sure, No problem, but first, remember to just call me simply Jacob, I am Auri-nova rank Aura user of the instinct pathway, I have the intuition Aura, It allows me to feel intuition through different reactions of my body like gut feelings or hunches, Through them, I can tell things accurately, Like I just did with Eric how he has not been paying attention to the major headlines of the Aura region which he wasn't, It is not suitable for fighting at all as you can see, I was a supporter of a team that got wiped out not many years ago and I became a receptionist."
Adrian's expression contorted as he felt bad for asking, Jacob was telling his sad story with a happy smile, suddenly, His happy smile that brought warmth felt to be sad and depressing, It seems the saying 'The brightest smiles hides the deepest pains' was true after all.
Adrian bent into a slight bow and apologized to Jacob, Jacob waved his hands and requested to Adrian, "H-hey, Don't bow kid, It's ok, I was the one who brought it up in the first place, there are thousands to which way worse has happened and they still live a happy life and are satisfied with life, In comparison to them, My suffering is nothing. Straighten your back and ask anything else you want."
Adrian was still feeling very bad even after Jacob told him not to worry about anything and thus, He shook his head in refusal, He don't have anything else to ask, He has already decided that staying quiet was the best option right now, Despite becoming an Aura user, He still had a soft heart who feels intense empathy to other's pain.
After this entire drama, Eric turned his attention to Jacob, He was getting a little restless on what the news was, Jacob finally opened his mouth and told the news, "Sasaki Alberich is getting married."
Eric's expression didn't change hearing this, This was quite the useless news. However, The voice in his head didn't think the same, An old man's groan resounded in his ear, that was the sound that had been in his head for years now, "The fourth one is getting married now? Good good"
Eric's expression didn't change but inside he was in disbelief, The voice in head has spoken quite a few times in his life but this was the first time it has ever said something to itself and not him and what he said was not some random clue that he had no idea about but a very valuable information!
"So Sasaki is the fourth one? If Adrian is the first one, Max is the second one and I am the third one as confirmed by Voyage, then what connection do we all have and how many 'ones' are even out there? What makes you a 'one'?" Eric thought to himself, However, just like many things in his life, He has no knowledge regarding this matter too, He also don't want to think about something too deeply in case he can't comprehend it, It would be too disastarous for him.
His mind suddenly jolted as he realized the sense of familiarity he got back when he was coming here, "Could it be? That Sasaki Alberich was there, watching me? No, What would he be doing here?. Maybe, It was someone else I don't know about. Wait, Edward knows that we are the first, second and third one, Sasaki also must know it, That's why he might have came, but why right now? He didn't approach us even. Sigh, He must know many things but if he don't approach me, Then I can't do anything about me. Hahah, It is still quite weird that I am connected to the most powerful Aura user in some mysterious way" Eric thought in his mind, he had some guesses now that could most probably be true but there were even more questions now.
Max didn't care about who was getting married or who was dying, He simply don't let himself be affected by things happening in other people' lives, Adrian was on the same boat, He don't know much about Sasaki, The news maybe excited for others but not him, atleast till he knows more about Sasaki.
From other's reactions, Adrian knew he and Max were the odd one out, Everyone else who had heard the news were mind-boggled and excited, This was going to be a huge and grand event for sure that will affect many things.
Max looked at Adrian while eating his honey layered sticks, He realized that Adrian don't know how news is spread across the Aura region and Adrian is unwilling to speak right now, SO! he decided to ask the question in his place, "Hey Jacob, Can you remind me again how news is circulated across the Aura region?"
Jacob looked up to Max and knew who he was asking the question for, He didn't expose him and just played along, He blinked with his right eye at Max and answered, News in the Aura Region is primarily circulated through newspapers. We're not like the Utopian Region, where the natural Utopian Energy allows the creation of advanced technologies and interactive communication channels accessible to everyone. It's much easier for them to share information. Aura does exist in this world, of course—but the natural Aura that flows through it cannot be used or interacted with by ordinary people.
What about telepathic communication? In theory, you could spread news instantly if one person with strong telepathic ability reached many others at once. But in reality, that would require countless individuals with exceptional mental capacity and Aura control to cover the entire region—something far beyond possible limits. Even if it was done, It might disturb many people and can lead to casualities to those who are trying to make relics and charms or are advancing and even then, remember: Meditation Aura only allows telepathic communication between Meditation Aura users.
Most knowledge pathway Aura users with abilities regarding to knowledge have already been recruited by the four great bodies of the Aura Region and work exclusively for them. So, what's the solution? There's only one answer—newspapers. Not everyone needs to know what's happening across the entire region, after all. So, local news is spread through printed papers or, on smaller planets, through limited TV broadcasts that report events relevant to that planet or its surrounding area. Once every month, a special edition is released—the "Universal Paper." This issue is primarily read by Aura users and contains the most significant developments from across the entire region. Before publication, every piece of information is cross-checked and verified with the records from Lumenia, ensuring accuracy and credibility. After validation, the paper is distributed across all planets in the Aura Region, with allied planets receiving priority delivery. Non-allied planets must purchase their copies each month if they wish to stay informed."
Adrian easily understood who Jacob was really answering to, He simply nodded to Jacob and asked, "Can we go home now? I feel a lot of time has passed, My sister will be worried, She is alone at home too, I need to leave now."
Eric looked at the clock on the wall, It has been six hours since they have been here, It must be evening on earth by now, The weather don't change here and no one can't tell if it is day or night here but the rate of time passing here and on earth is the same.
Eric nodded and bid farewell to Jacob, The trio then walked out of the hall and were now on the streets, before leaving, Max had bought some more sweets again, After all, He can't find the same sweets on earth.
After reaching the streets again, Eric grabbed the shoulder of Max and Adrian and walked ahead, Adrian's vision wobbled again before he found himself standing under the red sun, He was in an empty dark alley, He looked behind him and Eric was still in the same appearance.
Eric removed his hands from their shoulders and to his right, ready to leave, He looked at Max, Both of them nodded to each other and Max took out his meditation aura and teleported away, to where only he and Eric know. Before leaving he reminded Adrian, "Adrian, After you get home, You will be meeting your bodyguard, be kind to him."
"Wait, bodyguard? What?" Adrian was confused but Eric didn't answer his question and started top walk away, "Hey wait, Eric, I forgot to ask, What is the first step of the method of control of my rank to be able to increase my rate of control of my Aura."
Eric who was back in his Mike Jackson look and had worn the imperator's cross back to his left earlobe turned his head back to look at Adrian and said coldly, "You have been doing it for hours now, Guess."
Adrian was silent for a few seconds as his eyes hovered around, He couldn't find the answer, Eric sighed and answered, "Curiosity, Just go home, meet your bodyguard, read and ask as many questions as possible, The more you ask and lean and clarify everything, The more your rate of control will increase, For today, Goodbye."
Eric waved goodbye to Adrian and disappeared among the darkness of the alley leaving Adrian alone.